The truth about a complex built for veterans and the middle class and how it has evolved through the years to become one of the more interesting and controversial of New York stories.

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Management has two priorities: 1) Making sure money is made, hence upgrading and filling up apartments is their goal. "Amenities" are important in selling the place, though few residents use them. 2) If someone needs medical attention, Public Safety will be there, if alerted.

Quality of life issues are not that important, however. Things like the carpet rule or outsider dogs. These "rules" tend to be ignored, on purpose it seems. So you will see a lot that isn't taken care of properly, and complaints will be met with a creative excuse and a smile.

"Peace and quiet" must be a cruel joke, though this property is sold that way. There can be no peace and quiet as ALL apartments must be upgraded, which includes the installation of an AC unit below the window. Aside from the continual construction about the neighborhood, there is a new and noisy subway extension being built along East 14 st and the shut down of the L line. "Choosing" to live in NYC, now the newest mantra, is a fabrication when the talk is of ST and PCV, which was traditionally quiet, with no construction noise.

Though money was always important, it is now more important than ever. Money rules many things, as you will find.

At this point, 30 years into living here and seeing many things, I can state that Management and their reps are BS-ing us. I can't say that loudly enough: We are being BS-ed. I don't see any genuine change, though the "selling" of this place is intense. Few of the "rules" will be enforced, as Management doesn't want to lose customers or potential customers. Where personal integrity is a hallmark of an excellent management style, this integrity is not seen in enforcing some of the rules.

About those "club cars" we see going this way and that way, and outside of Stuy Town or Peter Cooper Village:

I don't know. It's their property, so as long as the noise is within appropriate hours, I think you will have a tough time of it. It's been this way, and even noisier, for a good time now. Someone else may have a more proactive response. I'm sure there's an agency or two to call, though.

we have taken great care to change the music offerings this year, from one or two major and hugely amplified concerts to a weekly series of varying music offerings, such as violinists, single guitar players, classic to contemporary, etc. Judging by those who come from all corners of the property to enjoy this new approach to music we made a good decision. We also limited the hours to 6pm to 8pm, not late by any standard.

I am truly sorry that you feel that this represents an assault on your senses and I invite you to contact us at feedback@stuytown.com if you wish to make a more formal statement.

>>we have taken great care to change the music offerings this year, from one or two major and hugely amplified concerts to a weekly series of varying music offerings, such as violinists, single guitar players, classic to contemporary, etc. Judging by those who come from all corners of the property to enjoy this new approach to music we made a good decision. We also limited the hours to 6pm to 8pm, not late by any standard.<<

I think the music selection and the "noise" has been fine so far. I could do without the movies, but there are folks who seem to enjoy that, mostly families. I don't live at the Oval, btw.

It's a shame New York City offers no entertainment, music, concerts, movies, etc. That's the problem with small towns. I must say, though, it used to be nice to come home and look out the window at a beautiful tree park and enjoy the air and beauty of living in a park Guess you have to provide entertainment for the too timid to go off campus.

RE: >>we have taken great care to change the music offerings this year, from one or two major and hugely amplified concerts to a weekly series of varying music offerings, such as violinists, single guitar players, classic to contemporary, etc. Judging by those who come from all corners of the property to enjoy this new approach to music we made a good decision. We also limited the hours to 6pm to 8pm, not late by any standard.<<

Yes, but may I ask the PCVST respondent this : do you have outdoor movies, live music, soccer camp, hockey camp, an ice rink right in YOUR home? When you get home from work, are you in an entertainment zone? Do your weekend mornings start with shouting sports coaches? As the "9:30" writer said, this is our home.

We, too, live on the Oval and it is a steady barrage of sound vs. a peaceful park---and attendees are way below the number of folks who live in the apartments surrounding the Oval.Quiet is a really luxury and amenity!

About the assurances of no more partitions...from Hayduk or a troll? Easy to make statements with no name attached. Could make a policy statement to the whole community under his name. Wanna take bets if we see that?

But even if from Hayduk, who's to say that policy won't change 6 months from now under Hayduk. Or maybe Blackstone relieves him in 6 months and someone else comes in and starts all over again.

>>About the assurances of no more partitions...from Hayduk or a troll? Easy to make statements with no name attached. Could make a policy statement to the whole community under his name. Wanna take bets if we see that?<<

If your apartment is unlivable you can withhold rent payments and fight the landlord in small claims court at first. Remember the young woman who did just that and was vindicated not long ago. Most city agencies are owned by the REBNY so seeking help that way is useless. Speak with an attorney. A case for a class action could be warranted.

Partitioning STPCV has been written about in local papers as a money maker. So why would Blackstone want to stop a money-making activity?

Because it's illegal, they know it, and people are starting to talk about the illegality openly.

Which means they'll have to take down the walls which not only will cost money in itself, but they'll also have the headaches of having to deal with the people who specifically rented flex units for the extra room.

So why keep building and renting extra potential headaches for yourself? Reason number 1 to stop.

Reason number 2: it's not unlike Hayduk to make a concession in order to mollify, in hopes that the bigger problem will go away. It'll be up to the community or the DOB (ha!) to demand all these illegal walls start coming down.

bring any prospective tenant into the office of rentals. Ask them, would you prefer robin williams film at the oval next tuesday and honky wonky fiddlers next wednesday or $100 a month discount on rent.

It's the flyover state mentality with the flyover state taste in "entertainment." In NY we have all the entertainment we want throughout the five boroughs. Coming home to a quiet and peaceful ambience is really a rare luxury - or at least it used to be - for New Yorkers. We are now being denied that luxury we enjoyed for so long because of the invasion of the flyovers with their Carnival Cruise/State Fair mentality.

STR - you have some credibility here. If you're saying, seemingly with confidence, that there will be no more partitioning, I'm wondering why. Is this your hunch or do you have some solid basis for writing this? I think this is a little too important to let slide.

>>STR - you have some credibility here. If you're saying, seemingly with confidence, that there will be no more partitioning, I'm wondering why. Is this your hunch or do you have some solid basis for writing this? I think this is a little too important to let slide.<<

You are correct in that I do not know for a fact that no new partitions are being put up. But I will ask, given time and the willingness of the workers. I can't do more than that.

"But even if from Hayduk, who's to say that policy won't change 6 months from now under Hayduk. Or maybe Blackstone relieves him in 6 months and someone else comes in and starts all over again."-----Even if from Hayduk or anyone officially representing Blackstone, why should we believe anything they are telling us?

We are talking about Blackstone. Our homes are owned by Blackstone. Hayduk works for Blackstone, not PCVST residents.

They claim Garodnick and his puppet TA represent us and stand up for us.

They deploy nearly identical language telling us the same things Speyer told us.

They define "partition" and "wall" as separate, distinct construction items.

Before Blackstone became official with us, or about that time, someone (who shall be nameless) said that Blackstone was not like CW, and he didn't mean that as a farce. Believe what you want, but I do think Blackstone is a better supervisor. This is not to say that Blackstone is pro-poor tenant, but it does have its priorities set a bit differently than CW.

If we are being overseen and "managed" by veterans of the hotel industry, as referred to in Anonymous, July 14 8:31 p.m., maybe there are more reasons than we know for the proliferating illegal transients and hotel conditions, contrary to what management and Security say to us.

CW was not interested in mounting any deceptive campaigns. They were straightforward in their behaviors. There was no Orwellian doublespeak.

Blackstone is excellent at presenting a veneer of caring about this particular income stream. They are quite skilled at mounting campaigns which are carefully worded; they are accomplished at staging events and making statements which seem to reflect genuine good will.

I was skeptical but hopeful initially. It took me most of this time to acknowledge even to myself that I'd been fooled again (from The Who and "Won't Get Fooled Again"). As others have posted in various threads here, personal interests, among others are pursued (at least some management personnel are dog owners and fans).

Cosmetics and diversions are quite brilliantly applied: new laundry room appliances (likely inferior, though, as were the old ones; the vending machines of junk food for the college set and similarly minded humans remain); "softer" and more "varied" music is blasted regularly on Thursday evenings rather than stopping it completely; maintenance requests are more speedily fulfilled while apartments are regularly destroyed, torn apart for months at a time, repeatedly for "renovations."

All of the nonsense "good neighbor" slogans and gimmicks are utterly disingenuous and someone who posted some while back nailed it when they described the "house rules" as being reminiscent of college dormitories.

If Blackstone did not deliberately market to and deliberately rent to college students/their rich mommies and daddies, and other 20 somethings whose myriad (illegal) roommates did not allow them to smoke in their apartments, then this idiocy of receptacles for cigarette butts would not exist. (And who the hell even picks up their cigarette butts anymore? I haven't seen it once in many years now. Because, "the world is my garbage pail" is a prevalent, if submerged, popular urban theme.)

I recently read a response by management about a distressing list of sources of noise, all of most of which is unnecessary. Management's response was patronizing, callous, dismissive, and ultimately, what a lawyer would term, "non-responsive." The tenant, who was courageous enough to use his name, was fobbed off in a truly offensive manner.

Our infracture is left to literally rot; the potholes in the roads go unrepaired. Dogs are multiplying and I often need to restrain myself from asking the selfish, self-absorbed owners if they allow the dogs to urinate against their furniture and defecate on their apartment floors.

And one more thing before I sign off: Then: the Oval has been desecrated for years. Closed, pristine, inhabited by grass and trees and other life forms. Peaceful, whole. For decades, it was a vista of tranquility, whether green or brown or white, in any season. It was itself and magnificent and not expropriated by unfeeling humans.

Now: The utter stupidity of posting "rules" such as no tents when Security allows the tent-like structures, and no alcohol when Security allows these "I am so cool and fabulous and sitting here or lying here hanging out and drinking wine/beer" narcissistic morons to drink and pose is discouraging beyond belief. There are days when I want to chase them all away and there are days when I literally weep.

No, Blackstone is craftily and incrementally destroying the remnants of what was once a home to thousands of people.

Blackstone kept all the same CW Compass Rock employees in the management office and gave them a shiny new name but it is all the same CW Compass Rock people. There is no difference between CW and Blackstone. CW is Ivanhoe Cambridge (even though they sold off to Fortress while they ran PCVST). Ivanhoe Cambridge has been involved in PCVST for years and Blackstone replace Brookfield in Summer 2014. We are not so naive or stupid to not see their game. Anyone know the real reason Brookfield backed out in 2014?

CWC was a agent on the make for Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae. Its job was to work things any way that it could to get back 5.4B and/or at least make Fannie and Freddie whole again...while at the same time filling its own pockets. All the while keeping Freddie and Fannie out of the limelight so that regular folks would not see them as villains. Well, CWC managed to do all of that with a little help from Schumer, deBlasio and Alica Glen.

On the other hand, Blackstone is an owner so a comparison is better drawn between Blackstone and Tishman-Speyer. You almost have to laugh if asking if Blackstone is better than Tishman-Speyer. Lucifer in the flesh would be better than T-S.

Okay, so Blackstone & Rick don't seem to be on the warpath to get long-timers out and it does seem as if maintenance requests are getting addressed more quickly and the place definitely seems cleaner to me (although not as clean as it was before T-S). And I do think the landscaping is good.

But I'm going to stop right there. Rick & Blackstone overly favor dog owners in my view. I don't see the leash law being enforced, there's hardly a day that passes by where I don't see new dog shit not far from my building, I do not see an increased PS presence or PS vigilance with respect to dogs or bikes or just plain patrolling.

I do think Hayduk has been tasked to bring some peace here, but I don't think management quite understands how much the dog situation is out of hand. All the sidewalks are stained with urine blotches or where dog shit has been scraped away and then sprayed. It's just plain disgusting. The number of dogs keeps growing. And the overcrowding due to students and separately due to flex apartments is unacceptable, So there's never going to be any real peace here so long as these conditions continue.

I too saw the noise complaint by Mr Levinson at the T & V site along with the response from Rick Hayduk that Mr Levinson posted. Was actually a bit surprised. Usually Hayduk is very careful to be gentlemanly and controlled. I thought his tone with Levinson was plain tough. Bears watching.

"And one more thing before I sign off: Then: the Oval has been desecrated for years. Closed, pristine, inhabited by grass and trees and other life forms. Peaceful, whole. For decades, it was a vista of tranquility, whether green or brown or white, in any season. It was itself and magnificent and not expropriated by unfeeling humans."

I, too, mourn for the Oval as it used to be. It has been desecrated beyond repair. That used to be the Crown Jewel of the property and the trees that used to whisper in the wind and gave us so much beauty to savor and provided so much for the lives of all of us, human, birds and critters. They oxygenated the air and gave us shade and a sense of tranquility. The bastard morons who destroyed them destroyed life in many, many ways.

I do think Hayduk has been tasked to bring some peace here, but I don't think management quite understands how much the dog situation is out of hand. All the sidewalks are stained with urine blotches or where dog shit has been scraped away and then sprayed. It's just plain disgusting. The number of dogs keeps growing. And the overcrowding due to students and separately due to flex apartments is unacceptable, So there's never going to be any real peace here so long as these conditions continue.>>>>>

Hayduk won't last long unless he starts to realize how much destruction has been done and continues to be done. If he can grasp that and handle it, then good luck to him. I doubt someone from the resort world of Boca, etc., could really deal with a raped and pillaged NYC residential property that was deliberately transitioned from beautiful oasis to dorm/slum and is literally falling apart under the weight of over-stuffed dorms and stinking dogs. The infrastructure here was not built for such abuse.

>>I do think Hayduk has been tasked to bring some peace here, but I don't think management quite understands how much the dog situation is out of hand. All the sidewalks are stained with urine blotches or where dog shit has been scraped away and then sprayed. It's just plain disgusting. The number of dogs keeps growing. And the overcrowding due to students and separately due to flex apartments is unacceptable, So there's never going to be any real peace here so long as these conditions continue.<<

There is one way out of this mess and Blackstone won't do it, and the City won't do it. The dogs are here to stay.

Right now and in the foreseeable future, Blackstone needs students. Unless they get a rental rate of 100% families, that's the way it is. They are not going to turn away money. Besides, this is another instance of the law stepping in to mandate that students be accepted, under current rules.

Regarding the ability to change an unhealthful and destructive status quo imposed by those with lots of money, and likely fueled by the ignorance or indifference of the victims:

Decades ago, Fred Trump, Donald Trump's father, handed his son some rental apartments to manage. Donald ran the buildings badly, with disdain for the renters.

It eventuated that rain did not simply leak into my apartment. It rained heavily into my apartment. No repairs were ever made. I withheld rent. Eviction proceedings were begun against me. With very little help, I researched and wrote my own legal defense.

The judge assumed I was an attorney.

The judge ruled against Donald Trump. (Fred Trump was no lightweight, either at that point in time, and had the resources, presumably to allow his son to do great injury to me.)

I won a legal case against Donald Trump.

. . . just an example. And, in the vernacular, "just sayin!"

P.S: I know, I know: "different time and place, easier to get things done," etc. Still . . .

Right you are St. BS needs the students is a fact. nothing more to say, they don't want to control or react to noise complaints like any other building responsbibly does (fact) so things are kinda obvious as to whom they cater to.

Well, I feel totally like giving up. Maybe it's my mood, in which case I'll be back, but you've won. The "you've" is the City Council, our Mayor, Blackstone and their rep Rick, the "high" price of living here. You've all won. I just want to live in what peace I can have. You are welcome to fuck things up as best you can. (No doubt that is NOT what you are going for, but the result is the same.) Look around. If you are truly happy, I'm sorry. I can't feel that way. I just want to live and be left alone. I see "the rules" broken every time I go out, and not many people give a shit. STPCV is over and done with, and has been for some time, whether you are aware of it or not. Maybe if you are lucky you won't know or you won't give a shit.

I'm done with monitoring this blog. I don't even have the will to shut it down at the main posts. I just won't be passing anything through.

Until There Is Silence No More

The Tenants Association and our councilman Dan Garodnick have mysteriously remained silent about a purported incident that occurred on July 12: the mugging by a group of individuals of someone right by Peter Cooper Village, along 20th Street.

The TA is basically done. Tenants can complain, but any action is negligible. The TA is effectively dead.

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"We'll be introducing a new process to identify registered dogs thus enabling Public Safety Officers to clearly approach offending dog owners. The registration will hang from the leash handle; clearly identifying the dog as registered.

"If the dog is not registered by May 1; a summons will be issued at the point of contact. If we learn the dog owner is not a resident, they will be escorted off the property."

Rick Hayduk, CEO and General Manager of PCVST. Letter to Barry Shapiro, February 2016.

STR here: I have been around since the inception of this dog policy and I have NEVER seen anyone escorted out of ST or PCV with their non-lanyard dog. But I have seen, many times, a dog owner from outside, and his/her dog, casually walking through ST or PCV.

THINKING of Renting in PCVST?

Read Yelp reviews to find out what it's like living here. Please note: All apartments are currently "rent-stabilized" but that doesn't prevent apartments from going up to 4K to 6K a month and even higher. How does this happen? Ask our politicians! Fact: Now less than half of the complex's apartments have the old rents and it's getting worse year by year--or better if you are the Real Estate Board of New York!

The Other Yelp Reviews

Yelp can be tricky and bounce reviews for a variety of reasons, like being a member and posting just one review. Very often, however, these reviews hold important truths about what's being reviewed. READ THESE TOO.

BICYCLES, MOPEDS, SCOOTERS, ETC.

Of course, "private property" but "public access" - whatever that means! And if a part of it is public access, do the rules of the city apply to our roads and sidewalks? Or does anything give because this complex is "private property"? Who comes here in case of a fire in one of our buildings? The Stuy Town Fire Brigade?

Hint: Look both ways if you are in the complex. Look on the ground, too!

61.03 Control of dogs and other animals to prevent nuisance. (a) A person who owns, possesses or controls a dog, cat or other animal shall not permit the animal to commit a nuisance on a sidewalk of any public place, on a floor, wall, stairway, sidewalk, lawn, garden or roof of any public or private premises used in common by the public, or on a fence, wall [or], stairway or entranceway of a building abutting on a public place

Banned & Oversize Dog Breeds in Stuy Town

Looks like there is some difficulty in enforcing the ban on certain dog breeds allowed inside Stuy Town/Peter Cooper Village. Somehow pitbulls and pitbull mixes have been registered in STPCV and are allowed to be freely walked about the grounds! Registered dogs in the complex are max 50 pounds. Total, if there is more than one! More than two, it's illegal. It's going to get worse, and, face it, Stuyvesant Town and Peter Cooper Village will never be like it once was.

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Read it and Weep

Current Value of ST/PCV

Was 5.4 Billion Dollars when Tishman Speyer bought the place.Became 1.7 Billion Dollars when Tishman Speyer left, with their tail between their legs. Of course, tenants now have to make up the loss.

Ex-landlord

Rob Speyer

1947 Stuy Town Plaque Honoring Met Life Chairman F.H. Ecker (Removed in 2002 and never seen again)

"... who with the vision of experience and the energy of youth conceived and brought into being this project, and others like it, that families of moderate means might live in health, comfort and dignity in park-like communities and that a pattern might be set of private enterprise productively devoted to public service."

I am writing on behalf of everyone at Tishman Speyer to express how honored we are to become part of your outstanding community. We are a business with deep roots in New York, a true love of our city and a great respect for the neighborhoods that make it special. We are committed to maintaining the unique character and environment that have made Peter Cooper Village and Stuyvesant Town such a wonderful place to live for so long. We look forward to providing you an extraordinary level of service and attentiveness that will be the source of pride and satisfaction for the entire community.

Neighborhood Recommendations

New to Stuy Town/Peter Cooper Village? Here are some basic recommendations.

Best supermarket: Associated on 14th St. between 1st Ave. and Ave A. The cheapest prices, fantastic weekly sales, very affordable lunches; solid, responsive management, but earthy. Some of the young female cashiers have attitude to spare, though. May be too far for Peter Cooper residents.

Best gym: Don't waste your money on the Oval Fitness Gym. Instead go to the earthy but real Asser Levy Recreational Center, right above 23rd St on Asser Levy Place (near the FDR Drive). $75 for a year's membership; seniors are almost free. Contains seasonal indoor and outdoor swimming pools, ping-pong table, two pool tables. Called by some rich people who wouldn't get caught going there "the prison gym," and you know why.

A Stuy Town favorite is Lenz's on 20 St. between the 20 St. Loop. The way New York used to be. Be careful of unwanted "pepper" in your food, however. Lenz's got a B grade rating and was temporarily closed down due to an order from the Health Department. Bruno's on First Avenue is more upscale, with a greater selection of food items (higher-priced, too), but was closed down temporarily by the Health Department. Stuy Town's own cafe was closed, too! And not because of all the dogs that hover and piss outside.

Gracefully has two locations, but we prefer for its size the one on 1st Ave. Prices are high and reflect the new tenants that are currently renting Stuy Town and Peter Cooper apartments. ("Do you have a credit card?") We like Gracefully's lunch specials, which are somewhat affordable.

I priced the CVS on 1st Ave near 14st. The non-aerosol hairspray was 20 cents above CVS' own website price, and one of the highest in NY. (Yes, I have hair.) You can save at least a dollar or more buying at another place. So beware. Look around for a better deal on all your items.

I love warm Quaker Oats in the morning. Gristedes is not the place to get it, nor is Associated, though their price is less. Look around!

Macular Degeneration Support Group

If you are currently diagnosed with Macular Degeneration, the New York Eye & Ear Infirmary is offering a support group for you. Conveniently located next to the Peter Cooper Village Stuyvesant Town apartment complex, our group offers the opportunity to share stories with other members, listen to expert guest speakers, and learn coping strategies to reduce stress. Our group runs on the first Wednesday of every month and we would enjoy seeing you there.
Please contact Baptiste Nicolas, Social Work Assistant at 212-979-4105 for further information and to see if this group is right for you!